Vol. 90
Inside this Edition...
Read about the Minneapolis Interview Project on page 7.
THE VOICE OF BLACK MINNESOTA SINCE 1934
September 7 - 13, 2023
PRST STD U.S.POSTAGE PAID TWIN CITIES MN PERMIT NO. 6391
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Stillwater prison lockdown
Inmates demand clean water, ways to stay cool in extreme heat By H. Jiahong Pan Contributing Writer
prisoners incarcerated at Minnesota Correctional FacilityStillwater, inmates at the Brisoners incarcerated at East unit refused to return to Stillwater, a maximum- their cells for seven hours on security facility, were Sunday because of extremely placed on lockdown begin- hot temperatures and water ning on Sunday, September 3 that was reportedly contamifollowing an action by some nated with heavy metals. inmates who demanded better Though the standoff was reliving conditions amid a near- solved, Department of Correcrecord-breaking heatwave. tions officials did not say how. According to those close to Those close to inmates in the
facility say they returned to their cells and have not been heard from since. Families and advocates are demanding an investigation into the prison’s living conditions, as well as the water supply. Advocates for the incarcerated report that prisoners had been on lockdown on and off for the past two months due to inadequate staffing and have not had access to ice, clean water or showers. “They said, ‘We are not going to walk into our cells if we
Protesters at Stillwater Prison on Sept. 4
St. Paul City Council votes to put childcare funding on next year’s ballot By Abdi Mohamed Contributing Writer
don’t get access to basic human rights like access to water and showers,’” said Twin Cities Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee organizer David Boehnke of Sunday’s standoff. “These lockdowns are hurting everybody. They’re undermining this idea that the DOC is going to be more rehabilitative. Because you can’t be more rehabilitative if you can’t get out of your cell and you’re on lockdown all the time.” The action came as temperatures in the Twin Cities soared
Photos by Chris Juhn
Twin Cities Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee organizer David Boehnke speaking at Monday’s protest outside of Stillwater prison to near-record highs. The air temperature at MinneapolisSt. Paul International Airport reached 98°F around 3:55 p.m. on Sunday, tying a record set in 1925, according to the National Weather Service. On Monday, temperatures in Bayport reached 90°F as the Twin Cities Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee held a press conference outside of the Stillwater prison. The current Stillwater prison,
which is actually located in Bayport immediately to the south of the actual city, was built in 1914 to replace what was the first prison built in Minnesota. It is the secondmost-populated prison in the Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) system after the state prison in Faribault, with just over 1,200 prisoners. Only two state prisons have air conditioning throughout, ■ See STILLWATER on page 5
Ruth Richardson’s abrupt resignation By H. Jiahong Pan Contributing Writer
t. Paul residents will be able to approve tax increases to fund childcare services at the ballot box in 2024, as the city council voted on Aug. 16 to override the mayor’s veto. The vote came weeks after the mayor vetoed the council’s resolution to place a proposal to pay for low-income childcare subsidies by raising property taxes on next year’s ballot. During the vote to override the mayor’s veto, Councilmember Rebecca Noecker of Ward 2 spoke to the commitment many in the room shared to get the proposal on the ballot. “This is a vote that honors the incredible amount of work done by so many people over so many years, many of whom are here in the room today, and most recently, our early learning legislative advisory committee,” she said. “We’ve asked and answered dozens of questions about how this program will work over the last seven years. and I look forward to answering dozens more over the next 18 months.” The council voted 5-2 with council members Mitra Jalali of Ward 4 and Russel Balenger of Ward 1 voting no. Jalali spoke ahead of her vote about her decision not to support the resolution due to a procedural issue. “I will be standing by my original position that what concerns me about this action is that it is
state representative instrumental in improving the quality of life of Black women in Minnesota has resigned her legislative seat. In a thread posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Rep. Ruth Richardson (DFL-52B) announced her resignation effective September 1. In a text message to the MSR the following day, she says she decided to resign to focus her efforts in running Planned Parenthood North Central States, where she is executive director, at a time when women’s Ward 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Noecker rights are under attack. Photo courtesy of Facebook “The healthcare landscape of this post-Roe world is tumulthe current council ordering an election. It’s not tuous and dangerous, not only a petition process, and it’s not actually a struc- as it relates to abortion, but as tured budget conversation the way other pro- politicians ramp up attacks on grams are pursued,” she said. “I don’t think this LGBTQ+ communities, staffis the appropriate route to pursue what I see as ing shortages, [and] rising a worthy goal. So, I’ll stand by my original vote.” maternal mortality rates,” said Ahead of the council’s vote, Mayor Melvin Richardson. “There is incred■ See CHILDCARE on page 5 ible and important work to be
Rep. Ruth Richardson accomplished at Planned Parenthood North Central States and I will be focusing my efforts there.” Richardson, who lives in Mendota Heights, was first elected as a state representative in 2018, ousting incum-
Photo by H. Jiahong Pan bent Regina Barr, a Republican from Inver Grove Heights. During her time as a state representative, she authored bills that required employers to provide paid family leave, banned warrior training for ■ See RICHARDSON on page 5
Part I of a special report:
African American youth suffer the most from gun violence
By Hazel Trice Edney TriceEdneyWire.com ierra Jenkins, a former news assistant for CNN and reporter with the Virginian Pilot newspaper, was headed for the peak of her career. Her colleagues praised her for her journalistic acumen and her respect
for reporting excellence. But when her editor tried to call her to assign her to cover a shooting in downtown Norfolk, Virginia, last year, he could not get an answer. Out of character for this young journalist, known for her professionalism and accountability, there would be a reason for her non-
response that would shock the world. Sierra Jenkins, 25, was one of the victims of the very March 19 shooting that her editor sought her to cover. As her phone rang, she lay dead outside a popular pizza restaurant, felled by a bullet shot during an argument over a spilled drink. She was not
involved in the dispute and the bullet was never intended for her. Nor was it intended for 25-year-old former high school honor student and football linebacker Devon Harris, also killed in the gunfire that night. The news devastated the community, their co-workers, family and friends. Fifteen months later, on June 6, 2023, only about 90 miles away, 18-year-old Shawn Jackson was also a promising young African American. Having just graduated from Huguenot
High School 30 minutes ear- gun violence. According to the lier, he lay dead outside Rich- Centers for Disease Control mond’s Altria Theatre alongside and Prevention, the leading his stepfather, Renzo Smith, a cause of death among Black U. S. Army veteran. Both were children and young adults ages killed by bullets from a gun 1-44 is homicide by firearms. In the midst of this crisis, sowielded by a 19-year-old man who targeted the two, accord- ciologists, Black mental health experts and medical workers ing to police. Whether the shootings were say one thing is certain: The unintended or criminally in- travesty has taken its toll on tended for their victims, across Black mental health—largely the nation—coast-to-coast— through fear, stress and grief— Black people are dispropor- while the gun industry is reaptionately dying, being wounded ing billions of dollars. ■ See VIOLENCE on page 5 by or mentally suffering from